Medical cutting and/or holding instruments configured as shaft instruments are known in the prior art in a vast range of embodiments. Shaft instruments known in the prior art, both on the jaw side, that is, on the distal end, and on the handle side or proximally, include jointed constructions that make it possible, by actuating a rotatable gripping member of the handle, to rotate the jaw members of the tool with respect to one another for opening and closing. The jaw members in this case are actuated by the rotatable gripping member, as a rule, by means of a push/pull rod that is mounted so that it can slide in the hollow instrument shaft.
The disadvantage with these known medical cutting and/or holding instruments that are configured as shaft instruments is that both their jaw mechanism and the mechanism of the gripping members of the handle that can rotate with respect to one another require joint constructions that use expensive production technology. In addition to this high cost of components and assembly, with hollow-shaft instruments known in the art it is extremely essential that they are configured so they can be disassembled in order to ensure impeccable cleaning of the instrument.
It is consequently the object of the invention to design a medical cutting and/or holding instrument of the aforementioned type in such a way that it can be constructed simply and is easy to clean.